2014: A Year of Surprises

We stopped sending Christmas cards a few years ago. It's not that we don't enjoy receiving them from others, because we do. In fact, we have a nice little Christmas card display thingy that we hang in a prominent place every December. So why did we stop doing them? I'm not sure I have a good answer or excuse, so I won't offer one.

Instead, I offer this "year in review" of sorts. Think of it as our Christmas card in blog form.

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If I had to choose a theme for the Rogers family in 2014, I think it's best described as A Year of Surprises. Some were good -- some not so much -- but in the end, we were constantly on our toes, and found ourselves to be pretty adaptable no matter what life threw at us.

FEBRUARY -- We're Moving (Again)

I suppose it's a good thing we decided to ask.

On a whim in late February, we emailed the property management company for our rental home in Tampa. We wanted to make sure we could re-sign our lease and stay in the home for another year. The family who owned the house was living in South Africa, and as far as we knew (and had been told several times), they wouldn't be returning to the U.S. for at least another year.

Like I said, it's a good thing we asked. 

We received a prompt response that, no, we could not re-sign the lease because the owners would be moving back into the house on July 1.

SURPRISE!

Just 8 months after moving to Tampa, we'd be moving again. Good thing we never got around to unpacking all those boxes.

With Jack headed out of town for three weeks, we had to act quickly. Although finding another rental probably would have made the most sense (we still own our home in Raleigh), I couldn't bear the thought of moving again only to feel "unsettled." So we decided to buy.

Our new home in Tampa

Our real estate agent went into hyperdrive and within 24 hours had lined up six showings in one of our target neighborhoods. The only problem was that, the same day we found out we had to move, I had oral surgery. The surgery in itself was no big deal -- but the reaction I had to the post-op antibiotics? That was ugly.

The accompanying nausea was so bad, in fact, that en route to one of the houses, Jack had to pull over at a busy intersection so I could jump out of the car and puke. Not one of my finer moments.

At each and every house we toured, the story was the same. I would tell our agent and Jack to go ahead of me while I stood in the front yard and threw up.

I just hope none of our new neighbors witnessed it.

MAY -- Two Houses, No Water

For those of you not familiar with Florida's west coast weather, let me acquaint you. The month of May can be hot. May can be sticky. May can be nasty. May in Tampa can remind you of an armpit.

And the weekend we moved into our new house, Tampa was doing its very best imitation of an armpit.

With temperatures and humidity high, so was our stress level. And it didn't help that to save money, we had decided to move everything ourselves -- everything but the very heaviest furniture pieces.

It was slow, arduous work, but we muddled through. By dinner time on the first day of our move weekend, we were making great progress. We stopped to order pizza for dinner, and as I stood in the office and looked out the window adjacent to Jack's desk, I noticed a steady stream of water pouring down the driveway.

Huh.

I raced out to the garage to find the hot water heater spewing water everywhere -- including all over our not-yet-loaded boxes and furniture.

SURPRISE!

Now Jack and I were the ones going into hyperdrive, desperately trying to locate the water shut-off valve. And because it was a rental home and we'd never thought to ask, we had no idea where it was. After 20 minutes or so, we finally found it. But a call to our property manager, and then to their plumber, revealed the earliest the water heater could be replaced was Monday -- if we were lucky.

Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink at our new house.

No big deal, we thought. It's so hot outside we can make do with cold water, we thought. Until we realized that all the faucets in the house were both cold and hot, meaning they didn't work at all.

No water.

Again, no big deal, we thought -- we already closed on our new house. We'll just shower and cook over there. Until we realized the county screwed up and shut off our water instead of transferring it to our account.

So we had two houses but no water. And it was Friday night. There would be no water until Monday.

So how did we get by for the next three days?

Showers at the gym. 

Eating out instead of cooking. 

Dogs drinking Perrier.

Just like we planned it.

JUNE-- Adventures in the Amazon

Although I never finished posting all of my journal entries from our week-long trip to the Peruvian Amazon, it is pretty well documented here on my blog -- both in words and pictures.

Jack with village children in El Chino, Peru

Certainly, the trip to the Amazon was not a surprise -- we booked it the previous October and knew well in advance what we were getting into (sort of).

The SURPRISE! in this case was that we actually went through with it. All four of us.

And we didn't get eaten by a giant anaconda.

Or stung by a bullet ant.

And we not only survived it, but we absolutely loved it.

We joked on the way home from Peru that any family vacation we take in the future will be incredibly boring by comparison -- and it's true.

LJ on the canopy zipline in the Peruvian Amazon jungle.

On how many vacations do you zipline through the a jungle canopy; swim in the Amazon surrounded by pink dolphins; fish for (and then eat) piranha; canoe through nearly impassable river ways surrounded by monkeys, sloths, and tropical birds; and hike through a forest so dense you can't even see the jaguars who are watching you?

A few days ago I asked Julianna to tell me the highlight of her year and she didn't hesitate with her answer.

"Well, duh," she said. "Our trip to Peru."

Duh, indeed.

SEPTEMBER -- The Marriott Miracle

One bonus to living in Tampa is that we have three NFL teams in Florida. That is, of course, if you count our hometown Suckaneers as an actual professional football team. (They are 2-13 as I write this).

As a side note (or rant) ... in the two years we have been Bucs' season-ticket holders, I have seen the team win in our home stadium exactly 1 time. Yes, once. In two years. And that's why we call them the Suckaneers.

Luckily, the not-much-better-than-the-Bucs Jacksonville Jaguars play just 3 hours from where we live. Why is that good? Because they happen to be in the same division as our beloved Indianapolis Colts. And that means, at least once a year, the Colts come to Florida.

LJ at the Colts-Jags game

For the second straight year we bought tickets to the Jags-Colts game. And for the second straight year, we randomly chose a hotel that wasn't too far from the stadium and where we could also use our hotel points and not have to actually pay for the rooms.

When we arrived at the hotel, the place was buzzing. There were lots of people lingering in the lobby. There were temporary black drapes hanging in front of the elevator vestibule. There were security guards sitting near the hallway.

The hotel was so busy, in fact, that we were told there was no way we could get two rooms that connected to each other.

When we pressed for a reason, we were told that the hotel was completely full. There was a wedding happening on site, and there were people in town for the Jags game (like us), and there was also a football team staying at the hotel.

"Which football team," we asked?

"The University of Pennsylvania," the desk clerk said.

I became suspicious. The guys milling around the lobby were way bigger than most college players I knew. And they were certainly a lot bigger than the guys who would play at a Ivy League school like Penn.

These were ginormous, massive human beings. Absolute beasts.

And I was pretty certain that not a single one of them suited up for the mighty Penn Quakers.

Then I noticed a local news guy with a TV camera.

Curious.

Then, some teenage boys asking one of the players to autograph a helmet.

A Colts helmet.

More curious.

Julianna, who was done with all the speculation, decided to take matters into her own hands.

She marched confidently up to one of the players, looked him in the eye, and said, "Excuse me, but do you play for the Indianapolis Colts?"

Julianna and Colts' Head Coach Chuck Pagano

The side of the player's mouth curled into a smirk, and he just nodded his headed up and down slowly.

Julianna stood there, staring at him, mouth agape, and said, "Uh, okay."

SURPRISE!

We had inadvertently chosen the same hotel as the Indianapolis Colts. Who knew they would stay at an unassuming Marriott in an office park just off the highway?

During our brief stay at the hotel, the kids were able to say hello to future Hall of Fame kicker Adam Vinatieri, get a glimpse of Andrew Luck, and even pose for a photo with Head Coach Chuck Pagano.

Oh, and incidentally, the player Julianna questioned in the lobby? That was the starting running back, Trent Richardson.

Best of all, the Colts won big over the Jags, 44-17.

At least a good team plays in Florida once a year.

DECEMBER - Beneath the Surface

In September I had a small spot on my face biopsied. Really, it looked just like a tiny red patch of dry skin on the side of my nose. But the results came back positive for two different types of skin cancer -- basal cell and squamous cell -- and combined they are known as a rare type of cancer called basosquamous.

SURPRISE!

Thanksgiving dinner, pre-surgery

Without going into too much detail, I'll give a quick update of where things stand now. Fortunately, the cancer did not metastasize. And in early December I had two surgeries -- one to remove the cancer, and another to graft skin to fill in the giant hole the cancer left on my face.

The good news is that, although I am probably months away from looking "normal" and going outside without a band-aid over my face, I will be fine.

We've done our best to face this with humor (no pun intended). My Christmas gifts included some fashionable Colts band-aids to cover my wound.

And as LJ so eloquently put it before the surgery, "Mom, this is one time you really DO need a hole in your head."

Touche.

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The events recapped here are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to an eventful year for our family.

There have been plenty of highs, a few lows, and clearly, lots of surprises.

Here's wishing you and your family a wonderful New Year in 2015 -- one filled with love, laughter, and surprises -- but hopefully only the good kind.

Amazon Adventure: Day 3 - On Top of the World

Today is the day LJ has been waiting for -- we're heading to the canopy zip line.

Given that it was named by Fox News as one of the Top 15 Craziest Zip Lines in the World, I have some pretty high expectations. (No pun intended).

We load into canoes and begin the 20 minute trek through the dense rainforest that lies behind the Tahuayo Lodge. 

We are visiting right at the end of the Amazon's wet season. As the dry season begins, the water level of the river will drop rapidly -- so much so that Cesar tells us that in just a few days, the water we are now canoeing in will be replaced by mud.

*******

The zip line platforms tower over us. In fact, I can barely see the top, which is more than 100 feet in the air.

LJ on his way up to the canopy zip line platform

Using their bare hands, our guides work a pulley system to hoist us, one by one, above the rainforest. It's exhausting work for them, I am sure. There are nine of us in the group and three guides take turns with the pulley.

Once atop the platform, the view is incredible. It gives me an entirely different perspective of the canopy, its birds, and yes, its flying, buzzing insects. 

LJ wants to be the first across the zip line -- and nobody stops him. I'm content to be the last one through the course. I figure that if the other eight group members make it across without the line snapping, chances are pretty good that I'll make it too.

It's my turn now, and our guide, Samuel, urges me, Vamos!

But I'm frozen. Even though I've been zip lining before, I'm mentally stuck.

The view from the top

This course is so high, so remote, I just can't will myself to move.

I take a few deep breaths and remind myself what Cesar told us when we first arrived at the zip line. Each year, engineers are brought here from the U.S. to check the safety of the course. Because the trees (which serve as the anchors for the zip lines), are under water for about half the year, they must be checked with regularity.

I survey my options and figure I don't have much of a choice. After all, I'm 100 feet in the air and attached to a rope, a harness, a steel wire, and a couple of carabiners. 

I don't really see any other way out.

I take a deep breath and decide to go for it.

Besides, if I chicken out now, LJ and Julianna will never let me live it down.

There's no turning back now

Amazon Adventure: Day 2 - The Jungle Love Triangle

During our return trip from Terra Firma, I start to drift off. But I feel the boat coming to a stop so I open my eyes to find us pulling up to the river bank just opposite a small village.

Here, we are greeted not by Peruvian villagers, but instead by three very curious woolly monkeys.

These monkeys have names -- Durilla, Chepa, and Rocky. Durilla and Chepa are female. Rocky is the youngest, and he is male. Durilla, by far the largest of the three, scrambles down the trees toward the boat. But the driver immediately backs away, not wanting Durilla to get too close.

Papaya was very popular with Rocky

Instead, we maneuver to a 3x3 wooden platform hanging from one of the jungle trees. Nelly places several pieces of fresh fruit on the platform. Durilla swings over to scoop up the fruit and then disappears back into the trees.

We steer toward the low branch of a tree that juts out over the river. Nelly tries to entice Chepa with a juicy piece of papaya. Chepa is intrigued by the offering, as is Rocky, but neither takes the bait.

Instead, Durilla comes scampering back through the trees, once again eager to socialize with our group.

As before, the driver instantly backs the boat into the river and away from Durilla.

*******

At a gathering prior to our Amazon trip, I recall Dr. Paul Beaver, one of the co-owners of the lodge, talking about how a gorilla had recently bit one of the visitors. 

I remember being horrified at the thought ... what an enormous, painful bite that must have been! 

Never mind the fact that there are no gorillas in the Amazon basin. 

I didn't really think about that at the time. I was too focused on my fear of being attacked by a vicious, man-eating, 300-lb. beast. 

Think Outbreak, but with me and Jack standing in for Rene Russo and Dustin Hoffman.

*******

The monkeys were just as interested in us as we were in them.

Now, as we play this game of jungle hide-and-seek with Durilla, the woolly monkey, I begin to connect the dots. 

It was Durilla that bit someone. Not a gorilla.

Oh.

Well, that's a little less terrifying.

Nevertheless, we avoid Durilla and continue to try and lure Chepa to the boat.

But Chepa is still leery. Instead, she climbs to a branch about 20 feet above us and hangs from her tail. Nelly grabs a piece of orange and tosses it high in the air. Not missing a beat, Chepa stabs her paw into the air and snares the fruit.

She devours the fruit, discards the rind into the river, and waits for more.

Over and over again, Nelly tosses and Chepa catches.

I am endlessly entertained. 

When Nelly pitches the fruit too low and it splashes into the water, Chepa lets us know she is not pleased, unleashing a series of loud grunts. 

I suppose it's just her way of coaching Nelly to throw the fruit a bit higher ... a little monkey talk.

Apparently this game of catch has made Chepa feel a little more comfortable with all the strangers. She swings and jumps her way toward the river and then carefully shimmies down the low-hanging branch. 

And just like that, there's a monkey in the boat.

Chepa squats on the boat deck and finishes off the last of the papaya, and we humans take turns gently petting her back. She doesn't even seem to notice us.

*******

Up close and personal with the woolly monkeys

As we make our way back to the lodge, we learn that these three monkeys were once pets in a nearby jungle village. Despite what you may have seen on the TV show Friends, keeping a monkey as a pet is a bad idea.

After being rescued, Durilla, Chepa, and Rocky were rehabilitated and released back into the jungle. Durilla and Chepa lived together on their own for awhile. 

BFFs, I suppose. 

Recently, however, Rocky -- the lone male -- was introduced to the mix, and you can guess what happened next. 

Durilla, the eldest female, has become a bit territorial and aggressive -- which is likely why she took a bite out of the jungle tourist. Just staking her claim.

Figures.

Even in the Amazon jungle -- and even within a troop of monkeys -- three is a crowd. 

I guess you could call it a jungle love triangle. 

Amazon Adventure: Day 2 - Termites, Poison Frogs, and Bats

On the Rio Blanco, en route to Terra Firma 

Today, it gets real.

Today, we're going hiking in the Amazon jungle.

We each are issued a pair of rubber boots so as not to introduce foreign microbes into the jungle with our own shoes. We also are told to wear long pants, long sleeves, bug spray, sunscreen, and hats.

I have a bit of an allergy to mosquitoes, so I'm not taking any chances. By the time I am dressed -- in the 90 degree heat and 95% humidity -- I feel like I am sporting full body armor. And I look ridiculous ... sort of like a cross between Panama Jack and Martha Stewart in her gardening clothes.

We head out in the motor boats for Terra Firma or "dry ground." This elevated area is one of the few places that does not succumb to the rising waters during the Amazon's wet season.

Soon, we veer off of the Tahuayo River and onto Rio Blanco or "White River."

The White River gets its name from the color of the water within its banks. It's really just a muddy, brown color -- nothing close to white. But where the Tahuayo meets Rio Blanco, you can actually see the water change from nearly black to light brown.

It's not that either river is dirty -- far from it -- there is no visible litter in or along the rivers. The dark water colors come from the sediment in the river and the decomposition of the jungle's plants.

After about an hour on Rio Blanco, we unload into a clearing and split into two groups for our jungle hike.

LJ at the foot of the Terra Firma trail

This time our guide is Cesar (pronounced Say-czar). Through his thick Peruvian accent, Cesar tells us he's been a jungle guide for nearly a dozen years.

I calculate that if Cesar's been in the jungle a dozen years and he's still alive and well, then I should feel pretty good about my chances of coming out on the other side.

As long as I don't lose sight of him. 

Also guiding us is Celeste (pronounced Suh-lest-eh). I learn that the word Celeste, in Spanish is a color -- essentially what we would call "sky blue" in English. She's only been on the job about 9 months, and appears to be in her late teens or early 20s.

I try to remember what I was doing when I was 20 years old. I'm pretty sure it involved a fake ID and some poor decisions. But I'm also fairly certain it didn't involve machetes, anacondas, and tarantulas.

*******

The humidity in the jungle is oppressive. The air is so thick it feels like a weight bearing down on my upper body. For a moment I wonder if I can possibly survive hiking like this for three hours.

But as I begin to focus on my surroundings and not just my sweat-soaked clothing, I am enthralled by what I see.

I have been on jungle hikes before -- both in St. Lucia and Belize -- but there really is no comparison.

The richness of biodiversity is evident from the moment we step onto the trail. Cesar points out a variety of native trees, including those used for medicinal purposes like the iodine tree, as well as those used for household purposes like the rubber tree.

WHACK! 

Cesar strikes the trunk of the rubber tree with his machete, and a white, milky-looking sap begins to ooze. Cesar places a bit in my hand, and after rubbing my palms together for just a moment, a rubber band appears where the sap once was.

Next, Cesar stops our group at a huge dirt ball that clings to the trunk of a tree.

WHACK!

Bug spray for the brave, aka termites

Suddenly, hundreds of small, red termites swarm from the mound. Cesar summons Jack to the tree and tells him to place his hands over the termites.

This is definitely one time where I'm happy not to be picked first.

Cesar instructs Jack to smash the termites in his hands to make a paste, and then spread it on his arms and neck.Why? Because termite mush makes an excellent homemade bug repellant.

And we Americans think termites are just wood-eating, house-destroying nuisances.

*******

The elusive poison dart frog

One reason we came to hike at Terra Firma is to find poison dart frogs. They are supposed to be plentiful in this part of the jungle, but this has to be a hundred times worse than finding the proverbial needle in a haystack.

While brightly-colored (yellow, red, blue, etc.), poison dart frogs are no more than about a 1/2-inch long. So after a lot of searching and even more sweating, I am beginning to feel like this is a hopeless quest.

And then, Colby, one of the boys in our group, spots it.

How, I have no idea. The teeny tiny yellow and black frog was clinging to a tree, camouflaged by leaves. Carefully, Cesar catches the frog by scooping it up with a leaf.

But now, the frog is hopping up Cesar's arm -- and he's NOT in long sleeves. And now it's moved to the nape of Cesar's neck.

And he's cringing.

And you can tell he wants that frog off of his neck -- NOW.

Cesar with the dart frog on his shoulder -- before it lands on his neck

This is because Cesar knows that the poison dart frog -- depending upon the species -- could be carrying a very toxic substance on its back.

One of our group members is able to shoo the frog off of Cesar's neck and back to the jungle floor.

Crisis averted.

Cesar laughs and seems very relieved. He'll live another day -- maybe even see year number 13 as a jungle guide.

I ask Celeste whether she's ever touched a poison dart frog before.

Yes, she tells me. Once she got some of the poison on her hands, and after touching her mouth, could not feel her lips for four agonizingly long hours.

Crisis averted. Truly.

*******

My little super hero braves the "Bat Cave"

Eventually, we approach an enormous, rotting, hollowed-out tree that is sprawled across the jungle floor.

Along with two of the older boys in our group, Julianna -- without hesitation -- crawls inside.

No big deal, right?

Except that this tree is home to a colony of BATS.

Fruit bats, fisher bats, long-nose bats, and even vampire bats. Dozens upon dozens of them hang from the top of the tree's inside.

A closer look at a group of long-nose bats

Despite wading through ankle-deep puddles of bat guano, Julianna emerges no worse for wear.

But I cannot believe what I just saw.

Is this really the same 11-year-old girly girl who's afraid of houseflies?

Amazon Adventure: Day 1 - Plumbing, Pauraque, and Rats

Daytime at Tahuayo Lodge

We arrive after dark at Tahuayo Lodge, and are greeted with a welcome drink of purple corn juice. Delicious. Sweet and syrupy, it leaves a deep violet-colored mustache on LJ's upper lip.

Despite being immersed in the Amazon basin, there is electricity and plumbing here, but it's not quite plumbing as we know it in the U.S. Our introduction to the lodge includes a plumbing primer, which was most definitely eye-opening.

Our showers have only cold water, because, as stated on the lodge's website, "in the Amazon rainforest, (hot water) will become a soup of mycobacteria ... (which) can be be inhaled into the lungs and cause a serious, tubercular pulmonary infection."

Alrighty then. Cold showers it is!

Also, we are implored not to flush any toilet paper in the toilets because as the signs posted around the lodge warn us, "If you think it's difficult to get a plumber at home, just try doing it in the jungle."

Fair point.

We then head down one of the piers to our room - an elevated palm-leaf covered hut with four beds and a simple bathroom.

Dim, ceiling-mounted LEDs (one per hut) light our way as we unpack, and we get settled just before the drum bangs signaling that it's time for our first Peruvian meal.

Our dinner surpasses anything I could have imagined. We enjoy a feast of rice, vegetables, and meat, finishing our meal with a honey-flavored cake.

I'm beginning to think that my plan to lose a few pounds during this vacation may not materialize. 

*******

This bird didn't stand a chance.

Our first excursion is led by our guide, Nelly, who has worked for Amazonia Expeditions for three years. It's a pitch black, cloudy sky, and we head via motor boat in search of nocturnal creatures. Armed with only a headlamp and a machete, Nelly, who grew up in the the villages that pepper the jungle landscape, fearlessly leads us down the Tahuayo River. 

Everyone is silent as she signals to our boat driver to slow down and kill the engine. 

Nelly has her eye on a small bird that is sleeping amongst the brush along the riverbank. As our boat approaches the bank, she crouches on the bough of the boat, slowly reaches her arms to the bird, and then grabs it with both hands. 

Nelly's prisoner is a common pauraque, a nocturnal bird that's native to the tropics and sub-tropics. Right now, it just looks petrified.

After telling us a few fun facts about the bird, Nelly gingerly places the pauraque back where she found it, and we head off in search of more creatures.

Edible tree rat

Just up the river we come across a Peruvian tree rat. It's the stuff right out of nightmares as it's three times the size of any rat I've ever seen before.

Rat fact: Did you know that there are two different types of rats in the Amazon? The kind you can eat, and the kind you can't. Nelly explains that certain tree rats are poisonous to eat because they consume toxic flowers.

The one we have found, apparently, is edible.

I consider this for a moment as we head back to the lodge. 

I suppose it is best to know which is which if you are a connoisseur of rat.

In this case, I'll just take Nelly's word for it. 

No need for a taste test.